If anything is festival music, then it’s the Ninth Symphony by Beethoven. Its dimensions and message make it so, and for this reason the Ode to Joy was chosen as the European Union anthem. It is always a celebration for Hungarians when Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi visits us. For several years, he was the music director of the Hungarian State Concert Orchestra but visits less frequently now. He is one of the world’s most in demand conductors. His career was launched when he won first prize at the 1974 Hu...ngarian Television Conducting Competition. In the first round, the participating orchestra was the MAV Symphony Orchestra and this was the first orchestra he ever worked with outside his native Japan. This led to a lifelong friendship with the ensemble and he often asks them to join him when he is touring Europe with Japanese choruses. In Japan, those involved in the choral movement are not professional musicians but very spirited, diligent and disciplined ensembles who approach European music and particularly the Symphony No. 9 with euphoric happiness. This explains the Tokyo based guest choir’s name: “The society of those singing the Ninth Symphony in the hot summer”. The choir was created by this evening’s soprano soloist, the graphic artist Ikeda Ryoko in 2003 and Kobayashi has since worked with them.
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
Safe ticket purchase
Dear Visitors, please note that only tickets purchased from the Müpa website and official ticket offices are guaranteed to be valid. To avoid possible inconvenience, we suggest buying tickets to our performances and concerts via the mupa.hu website, the Interticket national network (jegy.hu) or at our official ticket offices.